Differential gear.



A. B. HOLTERMANN. DIFFERENTIAL GEAR.

APPLICATION FILED FEBJO, 1913. 1,1 19,284.

Patented D60. 1, 1914.

Mama/WM UNITED STATES PA ENT OFFICE;

AUGUST E. HOLTERMANN, OF DE PERE, WISCONSIN.

DIFFERENTIAL GEAR.

Specification of Letters ?atent.

7 Application filed February 10, 1913., Serial No; 747,264.

l To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUGUST E. Hom'mz- MANN, a citizen of they United States, and resident of De Pere, in the county of, Brown and Stateof Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in i Differential Gears, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are a part of this specification.

. This invention has for its object to provide a differential gear for automobiles and the like which will permit of the driving shaft being directly connected with the driving wheels whenever it is desired to dis pense with the differential action, as when one driving wheel is on firm ground and a the otheris on a slippery surface. Without ferential gear will permit the wheel on firm ground to remain .still while all of the energy is exerted in turning the comparatively free wheel on the slippery surface without and appreciable tractive effort.

. Another object of the invention is to perfect details of construction of a differential gear whereby this result may be accomplished.

With the above and'other objects in view the invention consists in the differential gear as herein claimed and all equivalents.

Referring'to the accompanying drawings in which like characters of reference indicate the same parts in different views: Figure lis a sectional plan view of a differential gear constructed in accordance with this invention; Fig. 2 is a rear view thereof with the casing and otherpartssectioned for clearness of illustration; and, Fig. 3 is a transverse sectionalview thereof on the plane of line 33 of Fig. 2.

In these drawings 10 indicates the drive shaft or engine shaft which enters the differential gear casing 11 with a beveled gear 12 mounted on its end. The differential gear casing 11- is preferably in the form of which terminates in sleeves 17 loosely surrounding the two driven shafts 13 and journaled in cross pieces 18 of the gear casin 11 with friction disks 19 at their ends. E beveled gear 20 is secured to the gear housing 16 and meshes with the beveled pinion 12 on the drive shaft so thatthe gear housing 16 is positively driven by the engine to cause the planetary gears 15 to impart a differential driving action through the beveled pinions 1-1 to the driven shafts 13. Each of the driven shafts 13, however, has a clutch disk 21 splined thereon and movable into engagement with the disk 19 at one endof the sleeve of the differential gear housing. WVhen these disks are engaged there is no longer a differential action between the two driving shaf s 13, but both being directly connected wit the difl'erential gear housing and therefore with the driving shaft will receive the same driving speed irrespective of their relative resistances. I I i As a convenient means for engaging the friction disks 21 and 1;9 which are preferably convex in shape there is provided a yoked' lever 22 for each! of the disksv 21 fulcrumed at 23 to the casing 11 and engaging a groove in the sleeve of-said disk 21. v

"threaded rod 24 is pivotally connected to the upper end of each of the yoked levers 22 and a nut 25 has a right and left hand threaded connection with the ends of the rods 24 so that a turning movement of the nut serves to draw the rods 24 together and Patented Dec. 1, 1914.

thereby engage both friction disks 21 with effect the turning movement of the nut to I engage the friction disks and thus clutch the driving Wheels with the driving shaft of the engine when occasion requires.

By the employment of friction disks as a means for directly connecting the driving wheels of the driving shaft with the engine a slight yielding thereof may be permitted when desired to'prevent inforced slipping of tires in turning a corner, ,but in cases where the tractive effort islimpaired, as when one driving wheel x'stands in a mud hole, the engagement of'the friction disks may effect a sufficiently positive driving connection between the drive shaft and the s journaled in the cross pieces, a gear wheel driving wheels to cause the engine to exert its effort upon the wheel having a firm beargem-of its differential action. 7 What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A planetary gearing, comprising a casing having cross pieces therein, a planetary gear housing having shouldered sleeves secured to the gear housing, a drive shaft entering the casing. a pinion thereon engaging the gear wheel, planetary gears within the housing, driven shafts journaled through the casing and within the sleeves of the gear'housing, pinions on the ends of the driven shafts meshing with the plane tary gears, friction disks on the ends of the sleeves ofv the housing, friction disks 20 ing and engaging the splined friction disks, -threaded rods pivotally connected to the 25 ends of the levers, a nut having a right and left hand threaded engagement with the ends of the rods, an arm on the nut, and a rod connected with the arm and passing through the casing by which the nut may be 80 turned to cause the engagement of the friction disks. y

In testimony whereof, I alliig my signature, in presence of two witness; l.

AUGUST E. HOLTERMANN.

Witnesses:

Y WM. G. MADEL,

CARL G. Sco'rr. 

